Despite success on the field, a rising rugby star senses the emerging emptiness of his life as his inner angst begins to materialize through aggression and brutality, so he attempts to woo his landlady in hopes of finding reason to live.
Take a look back at the many on-screen incarnations of Batman and Superman over the years.
Related News
Meet the Four Legends Bringing Back the British Invasion This Oscar Season
18 December 2015 3:26 AM, +01:00 | Thompson on Hollywood
18 December 2015 3:26 AM, +01:00 | Thompson on Hollywood
Moët British Independent Film Awards to Honor Chiwetel Ejiofor
24 November 2015 3:32 PM, +01:00 | Indiewire
24 November 2015 3:32 PM, +01:00 | Indiewire
Oscar Nominated Moody Pt.2: From Fagin to Merlin - But No Harry Potter
20 June 2015 12:00 AM, +01:00 | Alt Film Guide
20 June 2015 12:00 AM, +01:00 | Alt Film Guide
User Lists
Related lists from IMDb users
Connect with IMDb
Share this Rating
Title: This Sporting Life (1963)
Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.
User Polls
Learn more
People who liked this also liked...
Drama
|
Romance
Director:
Karel Reisz
Stars:
Albert Finney,
Shirley Anne Field,
Rachel Roberts
Drama
|
Sport
Director:
Tony Richardson
Stars:
Michael Redgrave,
Tom Courtenay,
Avis Bunnage
A Taste of Honey
(1961)
Drama
Director:
Tony Richardson
Stars:
Rita Tushingham,
Dora Bryan,
Robert Stephens
Room at the Top
(1959)
Drama
|
Romance
Director:
Jack Clayton
Stars:
Laurence Harvey,
Simone Signoret,
Heather Sears
If....
(1968)
Drama
Director:
Lindsay Anderson
Stars:
Malcolm McDowell,
David Wood,
Richard Warwick
O Lucky Man!
(1973)
Comedy
|
Drama
|
Fantasy
Director:
Lindsay Anderson
Stars:
Malcolm McDowell,
Ralph Richardson,
Rachel Roberts
Is That All There Is?
(1993)
Comedy
Director:
Lindsay Anderson
Stars:
Lindsay Anderson,
Alexander Anderson,
Murray Anderson
Billy Liar
(1963)
Comedy
|
Drama
|
Romance
Director:
John Schlesinger
Stars:
Tom Courtenay,
Julie Christie,
Wilfred Pickles
Das Feld
(1990)
Drama
|
Thriller
Director:
Jim Sheridan
Stars:
Richard Harris,
John Hurt,
Sean Bean
Victim
(1961)
Crime
|
Drama
Director:
Basil Dearden
Stars:
Dirk Bogarde,
Sylvia Syms,
Dennis Price
Look Back in Anger
(1959)
Drama
Director:
Tony Richardson
Stars:
Richard Burton,
Claire Bloom,
Mary Ure
Britannia Hospital
(1982)
Comedy
Director:
Lindsay Anderson
Stars:
Leonard Rossiter,
Malcolm McDowell,
Brian Pettifer
Edit
Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Richard Harris | ... | ||
| Rachel Roberts | ... | ||
 |
Alan Badel | ... |
Gerald Weaver
|
| William Hartnell | ... |
'Dad' Johnson
|
|
|
|
Colin Blakely | ... |
Maurice Braithwaite
|
|
|
Vanda Godsell | ... |
Mrs. Anne Weaver
|
|
|
Anne Cunningham | ... |
Judith
|
|
|
Jack Watson | ... |
Len Miller
|
| Arthur Lowe | ... |
Charles Slomer
|
|
|
|
Harry Markham | ... |
Wade
|
|
|
George Sewell | ... |
Jeff
|
| Leonard Rossiter | ... |
Phillips, Sports writer
|
|
|
|
Katherine Parr | ... |
Mrs. Farrer
|
|
|
Bernadette Benson | ... |
Lynda Hammond
|
|
|
Andrew Nolan | ... |
Ian Hammond
|
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Add Synopsis
Storyline
In Northern England in the early 1960s, Frank Machin is mean, tough and ambitious enough to become an immediate star in the rugby league team run by local employer Weaver. Machin lodges with Mrs Hammond, whose husband was killed in an accident at Weaver's, but his impulsive and angry nature stop him from being able to reach her as he would like. He becomes increasingly frustrated with his situation, and this is not helped by the more straightforward enticements of Mrs Weaver. Written by Jeremy Perkins <jwp@aber.ac.uk>
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents »
Edit
See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
UKLanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
13 September 1963 (West Germany) See more »Also Known As:
Lockender Lorbeer See more »Filming Locations:
St Paul's Church, Back Lane, Drighlington, West Yorkshire, England, UK See more »Company Credits
Show detailed
company contact information
on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
MonoColor:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1
Edit
Mrs. Anne Weaver: What *do* you have?
Frank Machin: People like me.
See more »
Written by John Schroeder and Mike Hawker
Performed by Kim Leslie
Backed by Tommy Fisher and the Mis-Fits
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
Stanley Baker was interested in playing Frank Machin when the novel was published in 1960. See more »Quotes
Frank Machin: We don't have stars in this game, Mrs Weaver, that's soccer.Mrs. Anne Weaver: What *do* you have?
Frank Machin: People like me.
See more »
Soundtracks
Walking Back to HappinessWritten by John Schroeder and Mike Hawker
Performed by Kim Leslie
Backed by Tommy Fisher and the Mis-Fits
See more »
"This Sporting Life" is one of the most famous of the British "kitchen sink" dramas of the 1950s and 1960s ("kitchen sink" films were very gritty, social realist films which were very popular in Britain at one time).
Frank Machin (Richard Harris) is a brutal, young miner in a city in northern England. Hoping for fame and fortune, he becomes a successful Rugby League football player. He uses his fame and fortune, along with physical violence, to try to force his widowed landlady (Rachel Roberts) to fall for him.
Photographed in bleak black-and-white, the film's scenes of emotional and physical domestic violence are still shocking today. Also notable are the violent, stylishly-shot rugby matches.
The cast are brilliant without exception, especially Richard Harris who manages to invest even his totally unsympathetic character with some degree of humanity.